DA victims turn to civil courts because of police failings – law firm

Survivors of domestic abuse are increasingly turning to civil courts for protection because police are failing to enforce the coercive control law introduced three years ago, according to a legal practice.

More than 4,200 complaints were made to constabularies last year across England and Wales, but fewer than 10% resulted in prosecutions with even fewer ending in convictions, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Ministry of Justice data shows 25,707 non-molestation orders were granted in 2017, the highest level for a decade, and up almost 10% on the year before. The figures were obtained by law firm Nockolds, and the newspaper quoted partner Peter Dodd as saying: “I have dealt with a number of domestic abuse cases in recent months where we obtained non-molestation orders in the civil courts because we knew that the police would be unable or unwilling to bring criminal charges.”

A large proportion of forces appear to be poorly trained and inadequately equipped to bring prosecutions under coercive control legislation, he added.

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The NCDV magazine is published to bring together a vast array of news that is published on a monthly basis but is scattered around the internet. We focus on domestic abuse and violence stories but occasionally we will bring you personal stories from individual survivors demonstrating the enormous strength they have discovered and the incredible journey they have taken.